Public Lecture by Karl Deisseroth

Recent developments in optogenetics

Karl Deisseroth, MD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and of bioengineering at Stanford University, is known for pioneering the field of optogenetics. Photo taken on Thursday, March 26, 2015, on the Stanford University campus. ( Norbert von der Groeben/ Stanford School of Medicine )

Amongst his many accomplishments, Karl Deisseroth is known as one of the inventors and a pioneer of the groundbreaking field of optogenetics. Optogenetics allow researchers to use light to control the activity of neurons in living organisms, and has led to a better understanding of the circuitry inside the brain. Dr. Deisseroth’s team has also introduced a method to make fixed brains transparent, called CLARITY, which allows researchers to view large networks of neurons with unprecedented ease and accuracy. This method has allowed researchers to identify specific structures and networks of neurons in human brain tissue. The methods and approaches introduced by Dr. Deisseroth and his team are considered as some of the most promising to further our understanding of the brain and nervous system, and have revolutionized neuroscience.
“Developing and employing novel molecular tools, Dr. Deisseroth has brilliantly demonstrated a new way of understanding how the brain functions and provided neuroscientists, along with other medical researchers, new tools for exploring function and connectivity at the cellular level, ultimately shedding light on disease development and treatment,” said Thomas R. Insel, M.D., director of the National Institute of Mental Health, USA, quoted in a recent press release by the Albany Medical Center.
Dr. Deisseroth is also a practising psychiatrist, with a great interest in using new technologies to help patients.This public lecture is sponsored by the Quebec city SfN Chapter